I Watched the "All-American" Super Bowl Halftime Show. It Was Even More Embarrassing Than You Imagined.

"Just because there's one very famous story about an underdog taking on a leporine opponent and winning does not mean it worked out that way for Turning Point USA in its quest to compete with Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show. In fact, don't insult the tortoise community by bringing them into this. TPUSA has only itself to blame for the utter lameness of its All-American Halftime Show."

"The right-wing nonprofit's decision to offer counterprogramming to the official halftime show followed a wave of conservative backlash over the selection of the Puerto Rican, Spanish-speaking artist Bad Bunny as this year's headliner. Though President Donald Trump has frequently struggled to get big-name artists to perform at events associated with him, he was able to land Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts, and more for his second inauguration, and that was before Nicki Minaj went MAGA."

"Then, about a week ago, the organization announced its slate of performers: Kid Rock would be headlining, joined by Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, and Gabby Barrett. Kid Rock, he of the private jet with a middle finger on its tail, embracing Trump is still vaguely disappointing-I'm old enough to remember his glory days, such as they were-but no longer surprising. And if your reaction to the latter of those three names is that they sound made up, well, I was right there with you."

"My report after watching? It was as dumb as I expected it to be, but satisfying in one important way: They clearly struggled to fill the room. While it was more crowded than, say, a New York City screening of Melania ( I would know), the VMAs this was not. At times, there was enough room between that stage and the extremely subdued audience to safely do a cartwheel."

Turning Point USA produced an All-American Halftime Show as conservative counterprogramming to Bad Bunny's Super Bowl performance after backlash over his selection. The lineup featured Kid Rock, Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, and Gabby Barrett, a bill lacking contemporary mainstream star power. The production fell short of the official halftime show's scale and polish. The live audience appeared sparse with noticeable gaps between the stage and attendees, though the YouTube stream attracted 16 million views. The choice of performers and the uneven turnout reinforced perceptions of an underwhelming partisan spectacle rather than a competitive entertainment event.

Read at Slate Magazine